Supermarket Flowers

– Ed Sheeran

Fluffed the pillows, made the beds, stacked the chairs up

Folded your nightgowns neatly in a case

John says he'd drive then put his hand on my cheek

And wiped a tear from the side of my face

I hope that I see the world as you did 'cause I know

A life with love is a life that's been lived

Stark Jet, in destination to Australia

Hermione sat with Harry by her side, along with Ginny, and, surprisingly, Ron. The adult accompanying them turned out to be Andromeda Tonks with baby Teddy in her arms. It was an experience, to be frank, baing in such a luxurious plane. It was even more so for the Weasley children, who didn't even know such things existed, at least Harry and herself knew of airplanes and private jets, and other ways of Muggle transportation.

They wouldn't leave her alone for this. Even Ron, with their painful breakup, wouldn't leave her alone to face her parents funeral.

"No matter what, Hermione, I will never stop being your friend. Ups and downs, scream matches and dark lords, I promised I would never leave you, or Harry, alone again."

She was touched by his words, spoken with such maturity that, for a moment, she actually saw the man he was slowly becoming. He was leaving behind his childishness, and was trying hard to make up for all the mistakes he had made so far.

It was only natural that Harry would insist on coming as well. He was her brother and it made sense he would want to be with her, even though he never met her parents, he knew her, and that was enough.

Mrs. Tonks was a surprise. But seeing as most of the adults in her life had either died, or were too caught up rebuilding and reshaping what was left of wizarding Britain, well... Mrs. Tonks insisted she needed a time out, and once she heard about her parents deaths from Harry, the still mourning woman had decided she would step in to help her. Internally, Hermione thought Mrs. Tonks was picking orphans to fill in the hole that has her family now, but she was no one to say anything to a woman who lost nearly all of her family.

Pepper Potts ended up being a tall blonde, a bit on the skinny side, Hermione thought was due to the stress of running Stark Industries and being babysitter for her own boyfriend/boss. However, Pepper had a kind face, and her smile was soft and understanding. Pepper was also amazingly smart, not Anthony Stark-smart, but smart enough to follow the basics of the machines and technology created by the company.

And then there was Happy Hogan. He reminded her a bit of Hagrid, if only smaller and less hairy. He was always ready to help, and had a slightly naive aura about himself that often struck her as endearing, albeit a bit annoying.

The trip was filled with questions about Muggle technology that Harry and Hermione tried to disguise as them being raised far from any city and then educated in a boarding school. Neither of them thought Stark and company fully believed their words, but they tried.

When they finally arrived in Australia, Miss Potts reserved the most exclusive Hotel closest to her parents home. Hermione felt like she was someone else going on vacation, and not a grieving daughter about to identify her parents bodies from the hospital morgue.

She felt detached. Or maybe she was going into shock. Or was in denial. She wasn't sure about it. Only that she should be feeling something.

"Hermione?" She lifted her eyes from the plush carpet in her suite. Harry was there in casual, dark-coloured clothes, holding a hand out to her.

"I... What should I do now?" Hermione asked, a desperate edge started to seep into her voice. She searched her best friend's green eyes for an answer, but the only thing she could find was love and pain. He felt sorry for her.

Harry looked at her and grabbed her hand from her lap, he paused for a moment, clearly searching for words that would make her feel the tiniest bit better. He let go a sigh, and whispered, "You let yourself grieve, and then move on. You have memories of them, cherish that, miss them, but don't let that hold you back, because they would have never wanted you to do that." Harry paused again, taking a seat next to her in the loveseat and looping his arms around her when the first sob scaped her throat. "Even if they couldn't remember you in the end, they loved you like they loved nothing else in this world, Hermione, and you never stopped being their daughter... It was just a really, really bad and strange case of Alzheimer" he halfheartedly joked, and Hermione choked out a sob, smacking him on the chest.

Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital

The Hospital was cold.

Her body shivered, and Hermione pulled her cardigan more tightly against her form. She stood by the reception desk, waiting for the lady on the computer to tell find a nurse to take her where she needed to go.

"Miss Granger, Tommy will take you down towards the morgue, we... We're very sorry, miss." Hermione nodded, and followed the tall man down corridors and elevators, Harry stood by her side, along with Miss Potts, as Tony would be much too hard to miss in a crowd.

Hermione felt like each step she took was taking away all the warmth in her body. She inched closer to Harry, and he slung an arm over her shoulders in response, pulling her closer to his body and providing as much warmth as he could. Discretely, Harry cast a warming charm over her cardigan, and Hermione smiled up at him, making Harry wink playfully and kiss her forehead.

All the while, Pepper watched with curiosity. She recognised the two teens were very close, but in everything she couldn't sense any kind of romanticism. Theirs was a relationship that even siblings couldn't fully manage, but it was close enough, she supposed. She watched as Mister Potter held her closer and kiss her in the forehead, rubbing circles on her shoulder and the way Miss Granger slowly relaxed a bit.

It was going to be a long day, and Pepper was glad that Miss Granger had her friends to lean on.

Tommy stopped by a door sooner than Hermione was prepared for. She froze and stared at the door as if Bellatrix Lestrange in the flesh were on the other side, her skin going pale and her hands sweaty. Harry didn't comment on her palm, who he was currently squeezing in silent support. Tommy, God bless him, noticed her appearance and patiently waited until she felt ready. Or as ready as she would ever be to see her parents in the last way she had ever wanted to see them.

She had sent them away to save them from the Death Eaters. To keep them safe and alive even if it wasn't with her as their daughter.

But they were dead. It had all been for nothing and she never got to say goodbye.

Tears started to gather in her eyes and she furiously wiped them away with her free hand. Nodding to Tommy she was ready and taking a deep breath, she followed the man with Harry a step behind, still holding her hand and letting her drag him along.

Pepper followed in silence, her eyes on Miss Granger for any sign it was too much for her, for any sign she needed to get out. She could deal with the paperwork, but only after Miss Granger verbally identified the bodies. It was inevitable, unfortunate in ways Pepper couldn't even begin to come to terms with.

As it was, the Hospital wasn't fully sure they were who they claimed them to be, and a final identification test had to be done. The Wilkins had had her as a first call only because Hermione had made herself their first call when falsifying their new identity papers, and then adding the slight compulsion to not change it or question it when they saw it. And so, Hermione was the only contact the Hospital had to identify them both, and only her could send someone else. The fact that they had called a girl from another country was kind of strange, and, given her age, even more so.

Tommy approached two metal tables with white sheets covering the obvious forms of bodies. Hermione swallowed loudly and squeezed Harry's fingers to the point he thought she might break them. He said nothing, but gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze and tugged his hand free, moving to her other side to keep his hand on her shoulder.

When Tommy lifted the sheet off of the first body and her signal, Hermione gasped softly, a hand flying to her mouth to stifle the sob that crawled up her throat. Tears gathered in her eyes, making her vision blurry.

Her mother. Her beautiful, elegant mother. Hermione couldn't look any longer. She closed her eyes tightly, trying and failing to erase the image of her mother's lacerated face from her mind. She wanted to remember her the same she last saw her, right before sending them away.

"It's her." She choked out. She felt like asphyxiating. Tommy covered her up again.

Next was her father, and a heartbreaking sob tore from her throat at his appearance. He was even more disfigured than her mother, but she would recognise him anywhere.

"Daddy..."

She broke down.

Harry felt it first as he was still touching her. The way her magic started to build around her like static. He sent a quick stupify at both the nurse and Pepper, wincing when both of them collapsed and hit their heads against the floor, but then focused his whole attention on Hermione.

"Hermione, look at me, focus on my voice" he told her softly, yet firm, grabbing her by the shoulders at arm length to give her space, but letting her know he was still there. He spoke softly, begging her to come back to him, that she was not alone, and that her friends were right there for her to lean on.

Harry sighed in relief when the magic receded and Hermione slumped against him, sobbing her heart and eyes out, but no more about to become a magical bomb. He held her close, and for a moment, his mind wondered if the Australian Aurors would come to clean the footage in the Hospital's security cameras.

Captain Stirling Hotel

Hermione sat somberly at the window seat, her eyes unfocused on the beautiful landscape.

She had been like that since coming back from the Hospital. Harry had told Andromeda about Hermione about to loose control of her magic again and the woman had agreed to visit the Australian version of their Ministry of Magic to smooth things out.

Ginny was holding Teddy while Andromeda was out, and speaking quietly to both Harry and Ron about how best to approach their grieving friend. Ron thought it would be better to let her be for now, arguing she was still probably processing everything. Harry proposed to simply go there and sit with her to talk about it. But Ginny's glare told them they were both idiots, and then suggested they could simply sit close by, only to let her know they where there. She would come to them when she was ready, but letting her alone wouldn't help matters.

Tony watched from the living area, he had booked the whole Hotel, just so they could have privacy. His eyes going from teenager to teenager in that curious way only geniuses could muster. He looked back at the screen of his tablet. There was a paused video Jarvis had graciously sent him. It was Hermione and Mister Potter at the morgue, of the moment Hermione had had her breakdown.

The cameras had glitched the second Hermione hunched over at the sight of her mother, then going black and white a few times as she saw her father. It took a few minutes for the footage to be erased from the Hospital's database and now only Tony had proof that something wasn't quite right about the group he had brought with him all the way from England.

The mystery surrounding the girl only kept growing. She had falsified death certificates from her parents in England, and when he asked Jarvis, the AI had said that there was a discrepancy with the records and the footage, evidence indicating the falsification. Jarvis had run a background check on them, and found not a single criminal record, and so, he left it as it was, and even helped along a bit. He never told Tony because there simply hadn't been time when it all happened.

He said nothing, intent on figuring out the puzzle before letting everyone know he knew anything. He had the nagging feeling, right at the back of his mind, that he had witnessed something similar at the girl's house, but try as he might, he couldn't remember a thing.

He glanced at Pepper. She seemed fine and not at all preoccupied, or even in pain after the fall. He had been worried, when he saw the footage, but one glance in her direction made him realize she was perfectly fine. He had frowned, not understanding how she wouldn't even wince when she pulled her hair in a high, tight ponytail.

She noticed, and frowned at him, "Tony, what is it?"

Tony smoothed his face and grinned like he always did, "Nothing" Pepper narrowed her eyes at him, not believing him for a second.

"Tony..." She began, taking a step towards him.

Tony jumped to his feet and called Happy so the both of them could search for the best pizza around.

Andromeda returned a while later, a frown on her aristocratic features that her sister Narcissa Malfoy neé Black would have reprimanded her for, nevermind that Andromeda was older. Harry approached her, curious to know how it had went with the Australian Parliament.

"There was nothing to erase, apparently, not even a memory charm to do." Andromeda had replied. Harry frowned as well, so the cameras had not been recording? Deciding it was probably dumb luck, Harry shrugged.

"Maybe a witch or wizard was at the Hospital and performed the charms necessary and erased the evidence," Harry supplied as a way of explanation. Andromeda hummed, taking a moment to contemplate the idea, before deciding he was likely to be right and went to retrieve Teddy from Ginny.

Hermione was oblivious to all the conversations, thoughts and actions of everyone around her. She was deep inside her mind, in the mental garden she had made grow. Occlumency was an useful ability to exercise, although she recognised it was unhealthy to use it the way she was using it now. To escape the way her parents deaths were affecting her, but it was the only way she could find to keep her magic under control for the time being.

And, with that purpose in mind, she carefully tended to the roses her mother was so fond of, and the vegetables her father favoured.

The next day, preparing to go to Karrakatta Cemetery

Hermione never liked wearing black. Even less so after her counters with Bellatrix Lestrange.

Wearing black to her parents funeral should have been mandatory, but for the life of her, she couldn't bring herself to put on the simple black dress she owned.

"Need help?" Andromeda called softly from the door. Hermione turned from her post by the end of the bed, she had been staring at the dress vacantly, and her face flushed with colour.

Fidgeting, Hermione glanced back at the dress, her shoulders slumping. "I don't want to wear black..."

Andromeda hesitated, a sad look crossing her eyes as she observed the young woman before her. Hermione had to grow much too fast, her childhood stolen from her since such a young age it hurt Andromeda's heart deeply.

She frowned at the offending garment, pondering a solution. If the only problem was the colouring, then...

"We could charm it a dark blue, if you like."

Hermione shrugged, in all honesty she didn't want to wear the dammed thing anymore.

Andromeda pulled her wand out of her sleeve, she was wearing a dark purple dress, not a fan of black herself, and waved it at the dress on the bed. It changed to a dark navy blue, no so much as to mistake it for black, but dark nonetheless.

Hermione picked up and studied the new colour. At least it's no longer black...

"Thanks..." She muttered as sincerely as she could manage, and gave Andromeda a weak smile.

"Think nothing of it, dear." And left the room to let her change.

The trip was as silent as a grave and Hermione found little solace in the dark humour her mind seemed to cling to.

The Karrakatta Cemetery was not a place she would have chosen for her parents, but she refused to move them back to England, they had been dead for a few days now and she really wanted a closure from all of it. Her parents deserved it, after all, and she wasn't sure if they would've even wanted to be buried somewhere else. They had had new identities, new memories, in truth, they were a whole different couple than the ones who raised her.

It was so sad and shook her so hard, Hermione felt the weight of her decision crushing her to the ground.

She tried to tell herself it had been a good choice. That it had kept them safe until the war ended. That she couldn't possibly be responsible for them having an accident, but the guilt was there, eating her alive like the nasty curse that cost Professor Dumbledore his hand.

She was only half aware as they pulled to a stop a few meters from where her parents waited. And as she climbed out, Hermione couldn't help but think that the day was too bright for such a sad occasion. She half expected to be raining, or for there to be dark clouds up in the sky to match her mood.

A hand sneaked into hers and squeezed. Hermione lifted her gaze from the road leading to the final resting place of her parents, and found Ron's concerned, yet gentle gaze on her. Her eyes teared up, but she took a deep breath and held the tears at bay.

They might not be a couple anymore, but their love for each other was still there, still strong, just not in the way they both thought it could have been.

"You ready?" He asked softly. Hermione glanced ahead where the priest was waiting, both her parents before him on each side, waiting to be put under.

Truly, she suspected she would never feel ready, but she hadn't fought in a war feeling ready either.

Steeling her nerves and gathering all the Gryffindor courage she could muster, Hermione gave a short nod, and bagan the longest walk of her life, although it was only a few meters ahead.

The service dragged on for what felt like an eternity. There where a few friends of her parents as the Wilkins, all of them not knowing who she was. The resemblance with her mother was striking, and her hair was purely her father's, so she simply said she was a stranged daughter who had moved out of the house years ago in a rebellious move and hadn't made peace with her parents since.

The looks she received were ranged from pity to sympathy, all of which struck her. The story wasn't far from the truth either. She had fled her home, and if her parents had tried to stop her, she would have still gone with the boys to fight Voldemort.

After everyone who hadn't come with her were gone, Hermione stood by her parents to say her final goodbyes. Her face felt hot and tense with the urge to cry, and when she lied her hands on each coffin the gates exploded and painful cries echoed in the graveyard. Her friends and adoptive family waited patiently a fair distance away, and Harry and Ron twitched, no doubt wanting to go to her but restraining themselves to give her a small semblance of privacy.

Ginny and Andromeda where openly crying. While Tony hid his own pain behind his sunglasses, Pepper holding his arm by his side in silent support while Happy snoozed his nose with a napkin.

Even though Andromeda was crying, she kept a watchful eye on Hermione, making sure no magic leaked from her. Small, imperceptible waves of magic circled the girl's form, but nothing that could be perceived by a non-magical person, so Andromeda refrained from interfering, letting the girl be.

Another short chapter... I, personally, love to read long chapters, but I'm working on that, hopefully I will manage longer chapters in the future!

What a crazy thing to do, traveling like that, but Andromeda is with them, don't worry. Hermione is slowly accepting her parents deaths, and we see Tony gathering intell on her as well! Also, I don't know about you, but I like the idea of Ron maturing enough not to drift away or become the bad, horrible exboyfriend that makes Hermione's life uncomfortable. They were friends for years and fought together, that has to count for something.


I'm currently working on the next chapter, so see you next time! let me know what you think about this chapter in the comments